Abstract
Information literacy education is a crucial driver for the rapid development and success of current academic library services. Yet, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Internet technology advancement has limited traditional library information literacy education. Therefore, this study analyzes the problems through interviews with librarians and combining library website information with our case, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Library (HKUSTL), with the BOPPPS model to redesign information literacy education for better development. Problems discovered include monotonic educational activities and content, low student participation, ineffectiveness, and funding shortage. Strategic suggestions include better planning and control of the teaching process and effective teaching feedback evaluation. Scant studies analyze library instruction with the BOPPPS model, especially in Asia. These suggestions contribute to the development of library instruction in the post-COVID era.
TopIntroduction
With the development of the Internet and Big Data, university library services, including lending services, reference services, and services regarding teaching, learning, and research support, are gradually transforming into digital and intelligent (Kong et al., 2018; Tse et al., 2022; Liu et al., 2023; Walton, 2016; Wong & Chiu, 2023; Guo et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2020; Lo et al., 2020). As cultivating students’ high level of information literacy in the information age is a challenge every university library faces, information literacy education is increasingly vital for library service development (Lam et al., 2023; Torras & Saetre, 2016). However, the COVID-19 pandemic, social informatization, and thus students’ changing learning habits have impacted traditional face-to-face library information literacy education (Huang et al., 2021; 2022; 2023; Yu et al., 2023), especially in Hong Kong as academic libraries in Hong Kong did not commonly apply online information literacy education before COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus, this study applied the educational philosophy model of BOPPPS as a theoretical framework to re-examine and redesign library information literacy education. BOPPPS is a teaching method to organize pedagogy according to the steps of introduction, learning objectives, pre-test, participatory learning, post-test, and summary. Incorporating the concept of BOPPPS can arouse students’ curiosity and help them fully understand their classroom learning after course completion. As the primary providers of information literacy education, university libraries should face students’ multi-faceted and multi-level needs in teaching practice. Therefore, Cao (2016) proposes that applying the BOPPPS model can optimize traditional information literacy education and realize a comprehensive and precise teaching mode, which is also a current trend in developing information literacy education in university libraries.
This study selected the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Library (HKUSTL) as the case for analysis because it is one of the first universities in East Asia to attach importance to library information literacy education. Since the launch of information literacy education in 1995, the HKUSTL has had rich teaching achievements and experience (Jiang et al., 2019). As scant studies have analyzed library literacy education with the BOPPPS for the post-COVID era under the strong influence of contemporary education technologies, especially in East Asia, our analysis and suggestions provide essential references for library professionals and educators.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Library Instruction: A type of user education focusing on teaching students about locating library materials and other related information resources and services effectively and efficiently.
Experiential Teaching/Learning: A learning process through experience, i.e., “learning through reflection on doing.” Teachers or instructors design a learning process by allowing students to directly experience the concept to be instructed and thus obtain knowledge, develop skills, etc., by reflecting on the experiences.
Academic Libraries: A type of library attached to institutions of higher education, aiming at supporting teaching and learning as well as research activities of the institutions’ communities.
BOPPPS Teaching Model: A teaching design model which is student-oriented, teacher-oriented, practical-teaching-emphasized, comprising six key elements: bridge-in, objective, pre-assessment, participatory learning, post-assessment, and summary.
Participatory Learning: A teaching and learning approach encouraging students to participate in the learning process, i.e., experiential learning, through diverse methods, for instance, peer teaching, to facilitate students’ knowledge mastery and thus application.
HKUST Library: A academic library attached to The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), a well-known university in Hong Kong. It has launched various initiatives related to information literacy education, such as courses, lectures and events, assessment standards, project collaborations, and space transformation.
Information Literacy: The ability to seek, evaluate, understand, use, and create information for academic studies and research by university students in the context of higher education, usually consisting of information and research skills.
Information Literacy Education: A type of library instruction concentrating on teaching students about information literacy related to academic studies and research in the context of higher education, perhaps through traditional face-to-face, blended, or online teaching modes assisted with various digital tools to possibly enhance teaching effectiveness.